Council decisions
Local Bill for preferred representation model to be pursued
Elected members have delegated authority to the Chief Executive to pursue a draft Local Bill to be presented to Parliament to achieve Council’s preferred representation model which does not conform to current legislated requirements.
The preferred model is for three elected representatives on Rotorua’s Maori Ward (which was introduced earlier this year), three on a general ward and four ‘at large’ representatives, plus a rural and a lakes community board.
The interim model is for one on the Maori ward, 1 for the general ward and 8 at large.
The Council was informed that Rotorua Lakes Council’s Te Arawa partnership board Te Tatau o Te Arawa was in support of the Bill.
The Local Bill would apply only to the Rotorua district, for a limited term unless extended by a future Council resolution, which would require going back to the community and reconsidering if the model was still fit-for-purpose.
The Bill would apply to the first two elections from the date the bill passed and it is hoped that it could be in place in time for the 2022 local elections.
If the Bill is passed, the current process underway for the interim electoral model that was adopted by Council recently would be replaced by the process related to the processing of a bill. Objections lodged against the interim model would be terminated but those objectors would have the opportunity to provide feedback through the select committee process.
Councillors Reynold Macpherson and Raj Kumar voted against the resolution today.
See more about the Draft Rotorua Lakes Council (Electoral Model) Bill 2022 HERE
Or see the report on this matter on p31 of the meeting agenda, which is HERE and go directly to this portion of the livestreamed Council meeting recording via THIS LINK
Annual report for 2020/21 adopted
Elected members have adopted the 2020/21 annual report, for the year ending 30 June 2021, which showed a good result in a very difficult year, DCE Organisation Enablement Thomas Collé reported.
An underlying operating surplus of $7.9m was a solid result for a year during which there was no general rates increase, rates deferment to recognise the impact of COVID and reduced revenue, also due to COVID, he told Council.
Rotorua Lakes Council retained its AA- credit rating from international credit rating agency Fitch for the 2020/21 financial year and received a clean audit from Audit NZ which was confirmed this morning.
Financial results summarised:
- Strong underlying operating surplus of $7.9m
- Material impact from non-cash adjustments totalling $19m (largely due to council asset revaluations and depreciation)
- High completion of capex totalling $67m
- Prudent use of debt ($12.5m)
The Annual Report provides highlights and achievements for the year, statements of service performance and achieved targets and financial statements. Annual reports are typically adopted every October but COVID-19 impacted auditing services and a COVID legislation change allowed for delayed adoption.
Financials for the 2020/21 year (the year ended 30 June 2021):
- $143.7m in income including $25.2m in subsidies and grants;
- $49.7m capital expenditure (lower than the $117.1m planned, largely driven by deferred works for projects like Aquatic Centre, Museum and Performing Arts Centre.
$67.4m invested in capital projects to renew assets ($27.6m) or increase asset levels of service ($39m);
View the presentation slides relating to this matter HERE on Council’s website
See p28 of the meeting agenda, which is HERE, to view the written report on this matter
Go directly to this part of the meeting recording via THIS LINK
View the 2020/21 Annual Report HERE
Proposed Waste Management & Minimisation Plan approved for consultation
Council has approved the proposed 2022-28 Waste Management & Minimisation Plan for public consultation, on recommendation from the Strategy & Finance Committee.
Councils are required to prepare and adopt a Waste Management & Minimisation Plan (WMMP) every six years, outlining the vision, goals and targets for waste minimisation for their district and the action plan to achieve these.
Rotorua’s 2016-22 plan was aimed at empowering residents to maximise waste diversion from landfills and improve the district’s environmental footprint by upgrading waste services and facilities.
Rotorua has made excellent progress against the 2016-2022 plan and the proposed 2022-28 plan builds on that while also addressing new challenges in waste management and minimisation.
The priority will be to develop local infrastructure for organic waste diversion for both municipal and commercial waste. The second major approach will be educating residents on waste diversion, the benefits of circular economy and the impact of waste on climate change.
Targets for the proposed 2022-28 WMMP:
- 30% reduction in municipal waste to landfill
- Reduction in recycling contamination from 22% to 12%
- Contamination-free glass collection
- 60% reduction in kerbside food waste to landfill
- 60% reduction in kerbside green waste to landfill
The targets are linked to the goals and priorities of waste services outlined in the 2021-31 Long-term Plan, Council’s Climate Change Action Plan and the Te Arawa Climate Strategy.
A detailed action plan outlines the steps that will be undertaken to achieve the goals and the targets.
Details and dates for public consultation on the WMMP will be confirmed early next year.
Separate to this, planning for public consultation on organics diversion is also underway.
See the report that went to the Strategy, Policy & Finance Committee on p16 of the agenda for that meeting HERE, the related presentation slides from that meeting HERE and see the draft WMMP HERE
Other decisions
Council has approved the sale of several surplus pieces of road reserve and has approved the schedule of meetings for January to August next year. The schedule for the remainder of 2022 will be set following next year’s local elections in October.